Fireproof shutter.



R. E. BYRNE.

FIREPROOF SHUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26, 1910.

Patented May 9, 1911.

INUENTDFi UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

RODERICK EDWARD BYRNE, OF DTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALFTO JOSEPH ROBERT CAMERON, OF OTTAWA, CANADA.

FIREPROOF SHUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

through the reel and having hook-shap-ed Be it known that I, RODERICKEDWARD I ends 17 to engage and clamp the cable.

Brawn, of the city of Ottawa, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in F ireproof Shutters, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in fire proof shutters, and theobjects of my invention are to provide an improved form of shutterhaving increased insulating properties, and also to provide an improvedautomatic means for closing the same in the case of fire.

The improved insulating effect is secured by forming the shutter oftubular air containing members, and the shutter is' adapted to beautomatically moved to closed position in case of a fire by means of aweight held by a fusible link adapted to fall a determined distance, andin falling to engage and strike hooks on the shutter which cause thesame to move to closed position, all as hereinafter more fullyset forthand described in detail in the accompanying specifications and drawings.

In the drawings: Figure l is a perspective view of the shutter. Fig. 2is a perspective detail of a portion .of the shutter. Fig. 3 is a sideview of the reel on which the shutter is supported. Fig. 4 is a crosssection through the reel on the line 22, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectionalview through an alternative form of the invention.

In the drawings, like characters "of reference indicate correspondingparts in each figure.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a window frame of usualconstruction and B a reel supported in a casing C above the windowframe, the reel being suitably journaled in side members 10 and 11 onthe casing.

' The reel itself is formed of a hollow tubular member having reducedends 12 and 13 which are journaled in the side members as specified, thereel being thus hollow and filled with air is well-adapted to resist theeat.

D represents the shutter proper, which clamping bolts 16 extendingtransversely The tubular members 14 may be conveniently formed of sheetmetal and may if desired be each formed witha flange 18 adapted tooverlap the adjacent member and, thereby, secure a very tight andcompletely closed shutter. As these members contain air, they are welladapted to resist the heat The ends of the tubular members slide inguideways 19 y at the side of the window frame, said guideways as wellas the casing C, being of course, formed of fire proof material such assheet metal.

In order to enable the shutter to be raised and lowered conveniently, itis counter-balanced by suitable means. In the embodiment illustrated, aconoidal drum 20 is provided at one end of the reel having a spiralgroove into which a chain 22 fits having at its extremity a weight 23 ofsuflicient amount to just counter-balance the shutter. An auxiliarybalancing device (see dotted lines Fig. 1) is also provided consistingof a chain 24 and weight 25. The chain 24 is connected :to the drum 20at 26 and extends to the interior of the building, so that when it isdesired to lower the shutter, the weight 25 on the interior, willberaised, permitting the shutter to overbalance and close.

In order to quickly move the shutter to closed position, in the case offire, a weight member 24 is provided, normally held at'the top of thewindow by means which are destructible by heat such as a fusible linkmember 25, said weight being'adapted when released to drop and engagesuitable engaging means on the shutter and, thereby, force the same toclosed position. In the embodiment illustrated, these engaging means arein the form of hooks 26.

It is not necessary that the weight should fall the entire length of thewindow as the impact given by falling a short distance would impartsufficient velocity to the curtain to cause it to move to closedposition. It is, therefore, desirable to limit the down-' ward movementof the weight when released, anal this is done by chains 27 at oppositeen s.

In the alternative form shown in Fig. 5, the tubular members 14* havethe flanges omitted and are substantially circular in crosssection.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple and effective form ofshutter which is well adapted to resist fire, and which in the case of afire will be automatically moved to closed position and at the same timethe shutter is counter-balanced and may be closed at night or otherperiods without interfering with the automatic arrangement.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and manyapparently widely different embodiments of my invention within the scopeof the claims could be made without departing from the spirit or scopethereof, it is intended that all matter contained in theaccompanyingspecifications and claims shall be interpreted asillustrative and not in a'limiting sense.

What I claim as my invention is:'

1. A fireproof shutter comprising a reel formed with a hollow tubularcentral portion and reduced ends, a casing inclosmg said reel andjournaling said ends, a drum connected to said reel formed with a spiralgroove, a chain in said groove and a counlating apertures permitting theescape of heated air from said tubular members.

3. A fire proof shutter comprising a frame formed with guideways thereinand ventilating apertures communicating with the guideways, and aplurality of tubular air containing members in the guideways.

4. A fire roof shutter comprising a reel, a casing inc osing saidshutter and secured on the exterior of a building, counter-balancingmeans'connected to said reel and being accessible from the exterior ofsaid building, auxiliary balancing means connected to said reel andaccessible from the interior of said building, and a fire proof curtainmounted on said reel formed with hollow, tubular air containing members.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

RODERICK EDWARD BYRNE.

